Read James 5:1-6
Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you. (James 5:1-6)
For those who are rich this message comes as a serious warning. They may be “hoarding wealth” (v. 3) and “living on earth in luxury and self-indulgence” (v. 5). They may be mistreating the workmen and harvesters. “The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.” (v. 4b).
Are these not strong words of condemnation to those who are rich oppressors? And are they not relevant today? A recent report in the press informs us “Around 200 Bangladeshi workers cheated by their agents had been forced to live in desperate conditions near the Bangladeshi High Commission in Jalan Ampang here. Many were in such dire straits that they lived under a flyover for months.” A clear example, and only one of many, of the rich oppressing the poor. Shame on us in Malaysia!
“Today 850 million people are hungry and malnourished. Over half of them are children. 18,000 children die every single day because of hunger and malnutrition. 3 billion people in the world today struggle to survive on US$2 a day.”
Do we, like the Lord Almighty, hear the cries of the poor? How many members of our Anglican Diocese are ministering full time among the poor overseas? In our local churches are we challenging people in our congregation to hear God’s call to such countries as Bangladesh or Sudan? Do we pray for the poor in particular countries and for mission partners who are serving the poor? How much money as a family and as a local church do we give towards serving the poor? Do we reserve such giving for the occasional Disaster Funds? Are we advocating for the poor in Malaysia, especially for migrant workers?
The time has come for greater action by the church and the websites of four organizations are given below. May we neither oppress the poor nor fail to hear their cries.
Relief work
www.worldvision.com.my, www.tearfund.org
Overseas missions
www.omf.org.my, www.interserve.org
Help us, O Lord, to be mindful of the needs of others
and to do something about it.
This meditation is extracted from “Transformation from Belief to Behaviour: 39 Lenten Meditations on the Letter of James” by Peter Young and used with permission by the author. It may be used solely for personal, noncommercial, and informational purposes. Republication or redistribution of this devotional is prohibited.
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
